Cultural impact of the Chernobyl disaster on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
This article is about the cultural impact of the
Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident to date.
Overview
The name ''Chernobyl'' has become synonymous with the concept of a nuclear energy disaster. Referencing the political damage from the inept initial response to the disaster, pundits sometimes use the phrase "Chernobyl moment" to describe alleged analogous damaging failures, such as responses to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Ukraine has announced an intention to open the disaster area to tourism. Numerous cultural works have referenced the disaster, some of which are listed in this article.
Documentary films
* ''
The Bell of Chernobyl
''The Bell of Chernobyl'' is a 1987 documentary film directed by Ukrainian filmmaker, Rollan Serhienko. The film was made following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and includes a variety of accounts of the incident and its implications for nearby ...
'' (1987), a documentary film directed by Russian filmmaker, Rollan Sergienko.
* ''
Black Wind White Land'' (1993), a documentary film exploring the disaster and its consequences for the people of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.
* ' (2001) tells the story of Ljudmila Ignatenko and her husband Vasilij who was a firefighter responding to Chernobyl.
* ''
Chernobyl Heart
''Chernobyl Heart'' is a 2003 documentary film by Maryann DeLeo. The film won the Best Documentary Short Subject award at The 76th Academy Awards.
In the film, DeLeo travels through Ukraine and Belarus with Adi Roche, the Irish founder of the Ch ...
'' (2003), a documentary film observing the effects of the disaster on the health of children in the area.
* ''Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster'' (2006),
[Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster]
a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
about the events at the Chernobyl plant during the accident and its immediate aftermath, focusing on the role of
Valery Legasov
Valery Alekseyevich Legasov (russian: Валерий Алексеевич Легасов; 1 September 1936 – 27 April 1988) was a Soviet and Russian inorganic chemist and a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. He is now ma ...
.
* ''The Battle of Chernobyl'' (2006), a documentary with live footage at the time of the situation in
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
and the powerplant.
* ''Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl'' (2006), released by Seventh Art Productions to commemorate the disaster through poetry and first-hand accounts. The film aired at film festivals and on TV, internationally, securing Best Short Documentary at
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...
and the Rhode Island “best score” award, with a screening at Tate Modern.
* ''
The Unnamed Zone
''The Unnamed Zone'' ( es, La Zona) is a 2006 Spanish documentary film by director Carlos Rodríguez about the lives of three young Ukrainian children directly affected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Synopsis
The Spanish film crew led by Car ...
'' (2006), a Spanish documentary film about three young Ukrainian children directly affected by the disaster.
* ''
White Horse'' (2008), a short documentary about a man returning to his Ukraine home for the first time in 20 years.
* ''Klitschko'' (2011), a documentary about the World Heavyweight Champions
Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv[Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол� ...]
, which makes reference to their late father Wladimir Rodanovich Klitschko, a senior ranking Red Air Force officer was involved in the cleanup operation following the disaster who died in 2011.
* ''
The Russian Woodpecker
''The Russian Woodpecker'' is a 2015 documentary film written, produced and directed by Chad Gracia following Fedor Alexandrovich's investigation into the Chernobyl disaster. It is Gracia's directorial debut feature. The film premiered in the " ...
'' (2015), a documentary film that investigates the events leading to the Chernobyl disaster.
* ''Babushkas Of Chernobyl'' (2017), a documentary directed by
Holly Morris exploring the daily lives of elderly women who live and farm in the Exclusion Zone.
* ''Back to Chernobyl'' (2020), a documentary by
Roman Shumunov
Roman Shumunov ( he, רומן שומונוב) (born 1984) is an Israeli film director and screenwriter.
Biography
Roman Shumunov was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1984. In 1993, after the Russia-Georgia War, his family moved to Russia. In 2001 he ...
* ''
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes'' (2022), directed by
James Jones, contains interviews with people who were there and newly discovered footage filmed at the plant by cameramen who worked alongside those who cleaned up the disaster.
Fiction films
* ''
Scrooged
''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas film, Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a mo ...
'' (1988), Frank Cross, upon seeing the ghost of his boss: "No, you are a hallucination brought on by alcohol... Russian vodka poisoned by Chernobyl!"
* ' (1990), a Soviet feature film about the accident and its consequences, the title referring to its main theme of disintegration of human relationships—personal and public.
*''
Chernobyl: The Final Warning'' (1991), explores the disaster.
* ''
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (1991) begins with the exploding moon Praxis of the home world of the
Klingon Empire
The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids ch ...
, itself an analog of the Soviet Union since
Star Trek: The Original Series
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
.
* In the film ''
Naked
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing.
The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
'' (1993), starring
David Thewlis
David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter.
Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...
, the eccentric protagonist Johnny quotes the ''
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
'' and remarks that the Russian translation of Chernobyl is "wormwood". This quote is also used as a sample in the album ''
Orblivion
''Orblivion'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music group The Orb, released on 24 February 1997 by Island Records. With the album, the group, reunited with Andy Hughes and Steve Hillage, returned to their spacy sounds typical o ...
'' (1997).
* The Japanese animator
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
wrote and directed ''
On Your Mark
is an animated music video created by Studio Ghibli for the song " On Your Mark" by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. The song was released in 1994 as part of the single "Heart". In 1995, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed the short film for t ...
'' (1995), a music video for Japanese pop duo
Chage and Aska
were a Japanese popular music duo composed of male singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture: and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan.
History
They were formed in the late 1970s at the suggestion of the A&R ...
. This was essentially an animated music video lasting almost seven minutes. The opening scene shows a clean, old-fashioned, and apparently deserted small village which is dominated by a huge, asymmetrical version of the Chernobyl "sarcophagus". In a 1995 interview in ''
Animage'' magazine, Miyazaki compared the sarcophagus in the video to Chernobyl, noting the survival of plant life.
* In the comedy film ''
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' (2005), the character Deuce Bigalow meets Svetlana, a woman who was born in Chernobyl, and, as a result of the disaster, has a
penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...
instead of a nose.
* The action film ''
Universal Soldier: Regeneration'' (2009) revolves around terrorists seizing control of Chernobyl and threatening to expose the reactor.
*In the time travel comedy film ''
Hot Tub Time Machine
''Hot Tub Time Machine'' is a 2010 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Steve Pink and starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, and Chevy Chase. The film was released on March 26, ...
'' (2010), the hot tub is converted to a time machine when an illegal Russian energy drink, "Chernobly", is spilled on its controls. The protagonists are transported to 1986, only a few weeks before the real-life Chernobyl disaster.
* The Russian-Ukrainian-German co-produced film ''В субботу'' (2011; international title ''Innocent Saturday'') dramatizes the events in the town of Pripyat during the hours and days after the disaster, before the Soviet authorities decided to evacuate. The film was entered into the
61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...
.
* In the film ''
Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' (2011), the Autobots and NEST travel to Chernobyl to retrieve ancient Cybertronian technology (initially, they were supposed to discover the source of a radiation leak). However, once it is retrieved Shockwave suddenly appears and ravages the plant, along with a worm-like Decepticon named Driller.
* The horror film ''
Chernobyl Diaries
''Chernobyl Diaries'' is a 2012 American disaster horror film co-written and produced by Oren Peli and directed by Brad Parker, in his directorial debut. The film stars Jonathan Sadowski, Jesse McCartney, Devin Kelley, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Ingr ...
'' (2012) revolves around a group of college students who take an extreme tour into
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
, only to find themselves being stalked and hunted by a group of mysterious creatures.
* The final 20 minutes in the fifth film of the
''Die Hard'' series, ''
A Good Day to Die Hard
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in h ...
'' (2013), are set in Chernobyl.
* In the film ''
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw'' (2019), the main antagonistic faction Eteon's biotech and weapons facility is located inside the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and soon after Luke Hobbs, Deckard Shaw, and Hattie Shaw drive a damaged truck into Pripyat.
* ''
Chernobyl: Abyss'' (2021), a Russian film directed by and starring Danila Kozlovsky, centers on a fictionalized firefighter who becomes a liquidator.
Literature
* The disaster is the plot-driving device in the
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
miniseries ''Meltdown'' (1988), featuring
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
and
Havok.
* The novel ''
Party Headquarters'' by the Bulgarian author
Georgi Tenev deals with Chernobyl's impact on the integrity of the former Communist bloc in the late 1980s. A large episode of the book is set as an exchange of letters between the protagonist and "little unknown Soviet and Ukrainian comrade" describing the catastrophe.
* The ''
Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
The ' (, ''Association for the German Language''), or , is Germany's most important government-sponsored language society. Its headquarters are in Wiesbaden. Re-founded shortly after the Second World War in 1947, the is politically independent ...
'' chose the term ''Chernobyl'' (german: link=no, Tschernobyl) as
German Word of the Year 1986.
*
Christa Wolf
Christa Wolf (; née Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist.
Barbara Gard ...
's 1987 novel ''Accident'' (German: ''Störfall'') narrates, from the perspective of a female first-person narrator, the thoughts and events of the day on which the news about the Chernobyl accident have reached her and amounts to a criticism of utopian visions that ignore the human side of social progress.
*
Frederik Pohl's novel ''
Chernobyl
Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...
'' (1987) relates the disaster from the viewpoint of individuals involved in it.
* In 2004, photographer Elena Filatova published a photo-essay on her website of her solo motorcycle rides through Pripyat and the
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, Belarusian: Хона адчужэння Чарнобыльскай АЭС, ''Zona adčužennia Čarnobyĺskaj AES'', russian: Зона отчуждения Чернобыльской АЭС, ...
. The solo motorcycle ride story was later revealed to be a
hoax; most of the photos had been taken during a guided tour.
* ''Heavy Water: a poem for Chernobyl'' (
Enitharmon Press, 2004) ISBN 1-900564-34-3 and ''Half Life (Poems for Chernobyl)'' (Heaventree Press, 2004) ISBN 0-9545317-3-6 were based on first-hand accounts of the disaster, winning the Arvon prize and providing the source material for the award-winning art film, ''Heavy Water: a Film for Chernobyl'' (Seventh Art Productions, 2006).
*
Martin Cruz Smith
Martin Cruz Smith (born November 3, 1942) is an American mystery novelist. He is best known for his nine-novel series (to date) on Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was first introduced in 1981 with '' Gorky Park''.
Early life and educ ...
's novel, ''
Wolves Eat Dogs
''Wolves Eat Dogs'' is a crime novel by Martin Cruz Smith, set in Russia and Ukraine in the year 2004. It is the fifth novel to feature Investigator Arkady Renko and the first one taking place in Russia during the new, independent (post-Soviet) ...
'' (2005), is set mostly in Chernobyl, when the Moscow detective
Arkady Renko
Arkady Renko ( Russian: Аркадий Ренко) is a fictional detective who is the central character of nine novels by the American writer Martin Cruz Smith.O'Brien, Timothy L. ''The New York Times'' (August 6, 2007)Martin Cruz Smith's Arkad ...
investigates the murder of a powerful businessman in that area, after the businessman's partner has died in Moscow of
radiation poisoning. Both victims are found to have had some involvement with the accident, 20 years earlier.
*
Jim Shepard
Jim Shepard (born 1956) is an American novelist and short story writer, who teaches creative writing and film at Williams College.
Biography
Shepard was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He received a B.A. at Trinity College in 1978 and an M ...
's "The Zero Meter Diving Team" (2007) is a short story about the disaster, narrated in the first person by Boris Yakovlevich Prushinsky, chief engineer of the Soviet Department of Nuclear Energy. The story first appeared in ''
Bomb'' magazine and later appeared in Shepard's short story collection, ''Like You'd Understand, Anyway'' (2007), Vintage Books.
* Darragh McKeon's novel ''
All That is Solid Melts into Air'' (2014) uses the disaster as the backdrop for chronicling the end of the Soviet Union.
* In the ''
Mort and Phil'' comics album ''
Chernobil... ¡Qué cuchitril!'', the titular characters have to investigate mysterious things happening in Chernobyl 25 years after the disaster.
* In volume 1 of
Guillermo del Toro and
Chuck Hogan
Charles Patrick Hogan is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of ''Prince of Thieves'', and as the co-author of ''The Strain'' trilogy with Guillermo del Toro. Alongside del Toro, Hogan creat ...
's ''
The Strain
''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by '' The Fall'' (2010) and ''The Night Eternal'' (2011).
Plot synopsis
A Boeing 77 ...
'' trilogy, Professor Abraham Setrakian explains that the Master is naturally drawn to the sites of humanity's greatest disasters and atrocities. In volume 2, ''
The Fall'', corrupt businessman Eldritch Palmer meets with "The Master", the leader of the rogue
vampires, in Pripyat, to plan the vampires' takeover of the world.
*
Markiyan Kamysh
Markiyan Kamysh ( uk, Маркіян Камиш, born 19 October 1988) is a Ukrainian novelist.
Biography
Markiyan Kamysh is the only person who represents the Chernobyl underground in literature. Since 2010, he has been illegally exploring the ...
's novel ''Stalking the Atomic City: Life Among the Decadent and the Depraved of Chornobyl''(2022).
Music
* Polish singer
Jacek Kaczmarski
Jacek Marcin Kaczmarski (22 March 1957 – 10 April 2004) was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author.
Life
He was the son of painter Anna Trojanowska-Kaczmarska, a Pole of Jewish background, and the artist Janusz Kaczmarski.
Kaczmarski ...
wrote a song titled "Dzień Gniewu II (Czarnobyl)" (''Day of Wrath II (Chernobyl)'', written in May 1986 and released a year later), about the day of the disaster in Pripyat, its citizens unaware of the unfolding tragedy. The song juxtaposes calm, ballada-like music with the perspective of imminent death (such as ''"Around the well in the backyard / wet, smiley faces / a child chases wheel / it is being killed as well"''), serving as a
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
against the Soviet handling of the disaster and the secrecy that surrounded it.
*The 1986 song "Jijiji" by Argentinian rock band
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, also known simply as Patricio Rey, Los Redondos or Los Redonditos de Ricota, was a rock band formed in La Plata, Argentina. The group was active from the mid 70s up to the early 2000s. They are known for ...
was inspired by this incident
*
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's 1987 song "
Time Will Crawl
"Time Will Crawl" is a song recorded by English singer David Bowie, serving as the second single for his seventeenth album, '' Never Let Me Down'' (1987). It was written by Bowie and produced by him and David Richards. Released in 1987 by EM ...
" was inspired by the disaster.
*The incident also inspired the song "
Burli" from the 1987 album ''Liebe, Tod & Teufel'' by Austrian pop group Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. It tells the story of a "Burli" (
Austrian German
Austrian German (german: Österreichisches Deutsch), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (), or Austrian High German (), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria. It has the highest sociolinguistic p ...
for "boy") born with multiple physical deformities following a nuclear accident, concluding with his marriage to a girl with similar deformities as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. ("Auch sie hat einiges zuviel / als Andenken an Tschernobyl" "She also has a bit too much / As a souvenir of Chernobyl".) The single was denied airplay on West German radio due to being considered insensitive to victims of the disaster and people with disabilities generally.
* English heavy metal band
Saxon describe their personal experiences of the disaster in the track "Red Alert" on their 1988 album, ''
Destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
''.
* The Japanese punk band
The Blue Hearts
was a Japanese punk rock band active from 1985 to 1995. They have been compared to such bands as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Ramones.[Blue Hearts Theme
was the fourth single by the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. Though it was released after their major debut, it was written before they signed with a major label. It was released as a "double A-side" track on July 1, 1988, with "Chernobyl" (チェ ...](_blan ...<br></span></div>' song )
", was written in protest of nuclear power. The band's record label at the time had ties to the nuclear industry, thus the group left the label to release the song.
* "Mayday in Kiev", a song by
Watchtower
A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...
on their 1989 album ''
Control and Resistance
''Control and Resistance'' is the second and final album by progressive metal band Watchtower, released in 1989. This was the band's last album before disbanding in 1993 while working on its never-released third album ''Mathematics'', and their fi ...
''. The song title is a pun on the May Day celebrations, which were held in the Ukrainian capital
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
only days after the explosion as if nothing had happened, and the emergency signal
mayday.
*
Paul Simon's 1990 song "Can't Run But", found on ''
The Rhythm of the Saints
''The Rhythm of the Saints'' is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990 on Warner Bros. In much the same way that Simon's 1986 album ''Graceland'' drew upon South African music, this alb ...
'' contains references to the disaster.
* The German electronic band
Kraftwerk mentions Chernobyl at the beginning of their 1991 remix of their song "
Radioactivity", released on the album ''
The Mix''. Chernobyl is mentioned along with other places of nuclear incidents and accidents, such as
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
,
Sellafield and
Hiroshima. The names were included in the remix of the song because some critics had found the original version of the song to be too optimistic towards nuclear energy.
*American rap group
Outkast makes a reference to the disaster in the song "Millenium" on their second album ''
ATLiens
''ATLiens'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on August 27, 1996, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. From 1995 to 1996, Outkast recorded ''ATLiens'' in sessions at several Atlanta studios—Bosstown R ...
'' released in 1996.
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi.
...
s lyrics start the song off with the line ''"Me and everything around me, is unstable like Chernobyl"''.
* The 1997 song "Spam" by the band
Save Ferris
Save Ferris is an American ska punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, California, United States. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. In 1995, the band began to perform underground venues in Southern Cal ...
claims that the product is made in Chernobyl, to rhyme with the line, "It's pink and it's oval."
*Swedish
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emp ...
band
Craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pro ...
has a song referring to the disaster called "Reaktor 4" on their second album, ''Terror Propaganda'', released in 2002.
*The music video for the 2007 song "
What We Made" by British rapper
Example is shot on location at
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
, focusing on some parts of the city that has been greatly affected by the disaster.
* Crossover thrash band
Municipal Waste
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, a ...
wrote a song entitled "Wolves of Chernobyl", which was about the effects of the fallout, on their 2009 album ''
Massive Aggressive
''Massive Aggressive'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Municipal Waste
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of every ...
''.
*The music video for "
Sweet People", performed by Ukraine's
Eurovision Song Contest 2010
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song " Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organised by the European Broadcasting U ...
entry
Alyosha, was filmed in
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
.
* "Colony Collapse" from the 2014 album ''Lost Forever // Lost Together'' by British band
Architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
makes reference to the disaster.
* Brazilian musician Fredi Endres (of the band
Comunidade Nin-Jitsu) calls himself "DJ Chernobyl" in a solo project. The nickname comes from the
MTV Brasil
MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming the local version ...
''
Rockgol
''Rockgol'' was a television show from MTV Brasil, a football championship disputed by musicians. The show ran from 1995 to 2008, and later from 2011 to 2013, until the end of MTV Brasil. The matches were most famously "narrated" by comedians P ...
'' football championship, where the comedian hosts likened his haircut to the nuclear accident.
* Russian band
Amatory
Amatory (commonly stylized as MATORY'', to fit their logo) is a Russian metal band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 1998 by Denis ''DENVERZhivotovsky and Daniil ''STEWARTSvetlov.
Later in 1998, they were joined by Evgenyy PJ Potekhin but the ...
dedicated a song titled "Cherno" (Russian: "Черно)" from the album ''DOOM'' (2019) to the Chernobyl disaster.
* Ukrainian band
Go_A
Go_A ( uk, Ґоу_Ей) is a Ukrainian electro-folk band first formed in 2012 who were set to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the song " Solovey". Following the cancellation of the 2020 co ...
used an aerial shot of the Chernobyl power plant for their music video for the piece
Shum for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the ...
.
* South African band
Kalahari Surfers
Warrick Swinney (born in 1958), more commonly known as Warrick Sony, is a South African composer, producer, musician and sound designer. He is the founder and sole permanent member of the Kalahari Surfers. They made politically radical satirical ...
released a mini-album in 2019 titled "Chernobyl" which contains the song "Human Wrongs- Chernobyl 25th Anniversary" written by W.Sony'.
Television
*''
Nova'' television series season 16 episode 4 "Back To Chernobyl" (1989) was filmed on-location three years after the disaster.
* ''
Chernobyl
Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...
'' miniseries, produced by
HBO and
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...
, aired on May 6, 2019.
* ''Motylki'', Ukrainian miniseries, aired on April 27, 2013.
* The September 30, 2009, episode of ''
Destination Truth
''Destination Truth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on June 6, 2007, on Syfy. Produced by Mandt Bros. Productions and Ping Pong Productions, the program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the wor ...
'', a reality television series on
Syfy, features a
paranormal investigation
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of ...
located at the site.
* In the ''
Millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
'' season 1 episode "Maranatha", the hero, Frank Black, tracks a Russian
anti christ figure who caused the Chernobyl disaster.
* In ''
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...
'' season 2 episode 23 ("Chernobyl Intentions", airdate April 18, 2016), the team works on an issue with the Chernobyl sarcophagus.
* In the television series ''
The Event
''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010 to May 23, 2011. ...
'', the character Thomas is said to have been responsible for the disaster at Chernobyl after attempting to transport the fuel rods from the site using alien technology.
* In ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' season 5 episode 9 ("
The Last Temptation of Homer
"The Last Temptation of Homer" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 9, 1993. In the episode, a female employee ...
"), Homer and his new colleague Mindy Simmons represent the Nuclear Power Plant at The National Energy convention in Capital City. Many passers-by are shouting at the nuclear power stand, culminating in one shouting, "No more Chernobyls!", prompting Homer to throw a brick at him.
* In ''The Simpsons'' season 7 episode 7 ("
King-Size Homer
"King-Size Homer" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 1995. In the episode, Homer despises the nuclea ...
"), Homer receives a medal and the promise to be thin again from his boss Mr. Burns, when Homer saves the town by "turning a potential Chernobyl into a mere
Three Mile Island."
* In ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
'' season 2 episode "
The Host", the main antagonist, a mutant creature dubbed "Fluke-Man", is traced to a Russian freighter that was carrying radioactive sewage away from Chernobyl.
* In the British TV series ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'',
season 21 episode 3, originally aired on February 16, 2014, presenters
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
and
James May
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
had to drive past the reactor as a part of a challenge. Clarkson ran out of fuel and was made to stop not far from the reactor.
Video games
* In the home computer game ''
Maniac Mansion
''Maniac Mansion'' is a 1987 graphic adventure video game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It follows teenage protagonist Dave Miller as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Sandy Pantz from a mad scientist, whose mind has been ensla ...
'' (1987), the player can find a hidden nuclear reactor described as "made in Chernobyl".
* A hidden codec conversation in the video game ''
Metal Gear Solid
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces opera ...
'' (1998) reveals that the supporting character Nastasha Romanenko was born in Pripyat and lived three kilometers north of there. The disaster occurred when she was 10 years old and lead to her parents' deaths from radiation sickness some years later, as well as her hard-line stance against nuclear weapons.
* The video game ''
Snatcher (video game)
''Snatcher'' is a cyberpunk graphic adventure game developed and published by Konami. It was written and designed by Hideo Kojima and first released in 1988 for the PC-8801 and MSX2 in Japan. ''Snatcher'' is set in a future East Asian metrop ...
'' (1988) features in its backstory a horrific disaster known as "The Catastrophe", involving an explosion at a nuclear facility in Chernoton, Russia that released into the atmosphere a biotoxin called Lucifer-Alpha which kills a large percent of the world's populace. Said catastrophe bears similarities to the Chernobyl disaster.
* The arcade game ''
Chelnov'' (1988) was believed to be named after the events at Chernobyl, despite some developers stating it was independent of the Chernobyl disaster, other developers stated it originally had an alternative name but was changed to Chelnov due to the recent Chernobyl events.
* The computer game ''
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl'' (2007), its prequel ''
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky'', and its sequel ''
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat'' are based on the Chernobyl plant, disaster, and the surrounding areas. In the first two games, the power plant is the setting of the final stages. The games are also substantially influenced by the novel ''
Roadside Picnic
''Roadside Picnic'' (Russian: , ''Piknik na obochine'', ) is a philosophical science fiction novel by Soviet-Russian authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, written in 1971 and published in 1972. It is the brothers' most popular and most widely tra ...
'' and
Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...
's film ''
Stalker''. The games are set in the
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, Belarusian: Хона адчужэння Чарнобыльскай АЭС, ''Zona adčužennia Čarnobyĺskaj AES'', russian: Зона отчуждения Чернобыльской АЭС, ...
; although the Zone is not replicated exactly, various landmarks, geographic features, and overall geography resemble and are based upon field trips to the Zone. The power plant is guarded by a fanatical cult called the "Monolith", which worships an alien crystal that resides in Reactor No. 4.
** A new entry in the series, ''
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl'', is in development.
* The video game ''
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' (2007) features mission 11, "
All Ghillied Up
"All Ghillied Up" is a level in the 2007 first-person shooter video game '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' and its 2016 remastered version, '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered''. Set in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996, the player assumes cont ...
", and mission 12, "One Shot One Kill", and a multiplayer map, "Bloc", set in buildings and streets in and around abandoned
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1 ...
. The dangers of radiation and feral dogs are elements of the gameplay.
* ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' (2009) features the Spec Ops map "Hidden" and areas previously featured in "
All Ghillied Up
"All Ghillied Up" is a level in the 2007 first-person shooter video game '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' and its 2016 remastered version, '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered''. Set in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996, the player assumes cont ...
". There is also a multiplayer map "Wasteland" that is set in the outskirts of Pripyat. Reactor 4 can be seen in the distance in one area of the map. In the event that someone detonates a tactical nuke, the blast can be seen coming from the reactor.
* ''
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' (2011) includes a flashback cutscene of the mission "One Shot One Kill", from the point of view of the playable character Yuri and the series antagonist Vladimir Makarov, witnessing the attempted assassination of Imran Zakhaev.
* ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' has a map based on Chernobyl called "de_cache".
*The science fiction horror video game ''
Chernobylite
Chernobylite is a technogenic compound, a crystalline zirconium silicate with a high (up to 10%) content of uranium as a solid solution.
It was discovered in the corium produced in the Chernobyl disaster, a lava-like glassy material formed i ...
'' is based in the exclusion zone of the aftermath of the Chernobyl Disaster.
* Reiuji Utsuho from ''
Subterranean Animism'' (2008) of the ''
Touhou Project'' franchise has her right leg encased in concrete similarly to the ''
Elephant's Foot''. Her design might also be inspired by the alleged 'Blackbird of Chernobyl'
References
Further reading
* David R. Marples
The social impact of the Chernobyl disaster', chapter 4 ''Images of Chernobyl – Arts and the Public'', pp. 125–160
External links
{{Authority control
.
Chernobyl
Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...